A means for capturing an image digitally is an image sensor which converts an optical image to an electrical signal, as commonly employed in digital cameras and other imaging devices. Typical image sensors comprise a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) active-pixel sensor. A CCD is an analog device, when light strikes the individual photo sensors (pixels) comprising the image sensor the received light is held as an electric charge in each pixel. The charge in each pixel is read, converted to a voltage, and further converted to digital information from which a digital image can be created. With a CMOS sensor additional circuitry is employed to convert a voltage into digital data. Both CCD and CMOS systems operate utilizing poly-silicon gates, and have their advantages and disadvantages. Hybrid image sensors, scientific CMOS (sCMOS), are available that combine a CCD imaging substrate with a CMOS readout integrated circuit (ROICs).
By knowing the viewing distance between a color pixel and an object, it is possible to compile readings from a plurality of color pixels along with a distance measurement for each color pixel and thereby create a 3D image. Color determination can be affected by the distance between a color pixel and the color of an object in question. Further, the effect of distance on one particular portion of the electromagnetic spectrum can have a different effect with respect to another portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. For example, color readings made from the red light portion (e.g., about 650 nm) may be more affected by distance than readings made from the blue light portion (e.g., 475 nm). Accordingly, for color correction of an image, differing degrees of color correction may be required for readings taken from different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.